DUBLIN: Anti-social disturbances may cause Dublin bus services to West Tallaght to be suspended over the Christmas and New Year holidays. Anti-social behaviour is a common annoyance on the 77A, 27A, and 65B routes. Bus drivers have a good relationship with the Gardai in Tallaght, but the problem is that there are not enough Gardai. Moreover, there is no cooperation from the local politicians or the people’s representatives, so the problem remains unresolved.
There are no evening buses to Tallaght.
The services to West Tallaght have been completely suspended in the evening due to the worsening of the problem. Buses will cease service at The Square. If the anti-social elements continue to rampage, the drivers are of the opinion that there will be no service to West Tallaght during the New Year. If this position is taken, it will affect routes 65, 65B, 27, 77A, 56A, and 54A in and around West Tallaght.
An age-old issue.
There have been problems on these routes since long ago, but now the bus employees say that it is extremely serious, so they are not interested in running the service on this route. There have been 50 anti-social incidents in West Tallaght since October. Every day has been a problem lately.
A driver was attacked by two youths the other day. He threw ice on his head. This was after he was asked to get off the bus after creating a ruckus. Since the incident, this driver has not returned to work.
In another incident, a 27 bus driver was assaulted in Jobstown. The knife-wielding passenger was trying to break the driver’s side screen.
Driver’s West Tallaght Agreement.
If there is a disturbance by anti-socials, drivers’ current practise is to suspend services in that area for an hour; if there is a second problem, services to that area are temporarily suspended for the entire night. This is the West Tallaght drivers’ agreement. If the problems continue like this, the drivers remind that West Tallaght will not have a single bus.
To the parents
Staff urged parents in West Tallaght to be aware of their teenage children’s whereabouts and the anti-social problems they are causing.
There should be intervention to maintain bus services in this area. They also stated that it is not the bus crew’s or the garda’s responsibility to keep the service running smoothly.
The Dublin bus service will be taken seriously.
A Dublin Bus spokesman said the company takes anti-social incidents very seriously. All buses are fitted with CCTV and radio communications. In the event of an incident, drivers can contact the Central Control Center and Garda immediately.
All Dublin Bus staff are fully trained to deal with challenges, including anti-social behaviour. In the city centre, there are also mobile inspectors. The spokesperson said that there would be an intervention.
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